TUESDAY, Oct. 13 — An Ingham County Health Department proposal would ban e-cigarette sales to minors and require vendors to obtain a tobacco license to sell them to anyone else starting next year.

“Virtually anyone can buy and sell e-cigarettes in Ingham County right now, even children,” Linda S. Vail, the department’s chief executive, said today. “The sale of e-cigarettes to minors is a major health concern because e-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, a highly addictive drug.”

Vail said licensing would “ensure e-cigarettes stay out of the hands of children and teens.”

The department is asking the Ingham County Board of Commissioners to consider the proposal.

A press release said that “According to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), current e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014. E-cigarette use has surpassed every other tobacco product among teens, including conventional cigarettes.”

The health department will hold a public meeting on the proposal at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 in Conference Room A of the Human Services Building, 5303 S. Cedar St. A public hearing on the proposed regulation is set for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 10 in the Board of Commissioners Room of the Ingham County Courthouse in Mason.